Unwitting Collaborators, Part 1: Breakdown of the Human Firewall

Policies and procedures are essential to protecting your organization, but they're useless unless properly implemented by human beings who get the point. Frank Fiore and Jean François explain how easy it is for a "social engineer" to bypass these protection systems with nothing more technological than a smile and a friendly question.

Like this article? We recommend

Introduction

When considering network security, thoughts turn immediately to
technology. But technology is just a screwdriver in the security toolbox. A
broaderand just as importantpiece in the security equation is the
human factor. When putting your network on a war footing, the human firewall is
just as important as the technical one. Protecting your security by controlling
access to your building, personnel, and information systems may seem like an
obvious problem, but you'd be surprised how many
organizationsbusinesses especiallyfall down on this simple yet
effective threat-prevention tactic.